As presidential election remains undecided, NC demonstrators demand to ‘count every vote’

While North Carolina’s election results remain in the national spotlight, advocacy groups are demanding that every vote be counted.

Hundreds of people gathered in Durham to march from CCB Plaza to the Board of Elections office on Wednesday, airing their concerns that the highly contested presidential election will be called before every vote has been counted.

“President Trump and other politicians, they want to pick and choose whose votes are being counted,” said “Mama Cookie” Bradley, a fast-food worker and a member of NC Raise Up/Fight for $15 and a Union, to the crowd.

“We are here and our voices will be heard,” Bradley said. “Our votes will be counted, they will not cheat us out of anything.”

Organizers emphasized that the fight to protect the democratic process is especially important in North Carolina, where the presidential race remains tight. According to North Carolina’s unofficial and preliminary results, Trump, the Republican, was ahead of Democratic challenger Joe Biden by nearly 77,000 votes. Other races remain close with no clear victor.

But about 116,200 outstanding absentee ballots remain across the state, the N.C. Board of Elections reported Wednesday night. Those ballots have yet to turned into boards of election. If voters mailed the ballots by Election Day, they can be accepted by the state until Nov. 12. Not all requested ballots will be used and submitted. Some voters may not vote absentee, or they may have gone to poll sites to cast their ballots instead.

Wednesday night, other states across the country, including Pennsylvania and Georgia, also continued to count ballots, with the presidential election undecided.

In Durham, demonstrators carrying signs saying “count the vote” marched through downtown, chanting “The people united will never be defeated” and “Whose streets? Our streets. Whose vote? Our vote.”

“I’m just disappointed,” said Chiquetta Harris Leathers, as she marched with the group down Main Street.

She said police brutality was one of the main issues that influenced her vote.

“This administration has continued to disappoint us for the last four years, and now it seems like they want to steal the vote, and it’s not fair,” Harris Leathers said.

When the march arrived at the Durham County Board of Elections building on Roxboro Street, demonstrators raised their fists and cheered in appreciation for those working to count ballots.

Race remains tight in North Carolina

Over a dozen organizations participated in the Wednesday rally, including NC Raise Up, Durham for All, Durham Beyond Policing, BYP100, North Carolina AFL-CIO, SONG, and Action NC.

“The reality is that we have people that are in decision-making power that make voting less accessible, make voting dangerous for Black and brown folks in this state and in many other states,” said D’atra Jackson, national director of BYP100, in an interview with The News & Observer.

“I think this will be one of those states that will be contested,” Jackson said. “And this rally today is to help get as many people from our community prepared for that, and prepared to respond.”

Michelle Burton, president of the Durham Association of Educators, told demonstrators that she is “hurt” and “upset” about the results of the election. Some organizers said they were disappointed by Trump’s success in the state.

“We know now without a shadow of a doubt that there’s a strong force in this state, in this country, to keep this racial caste system deeply entrenched,” Burton said.

“And we know that these forces will do anything to destroy our country to make sure it stays in place, they will do it through voter suppression, they will do it through violence.”

But organizers also celebrated the record voter turnout in North Carolina. Nearly three-quarters of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2020 election, according to unofficial returns from the North Carolina Board of Elections, compared with 69% in 2016.

“The last weeks on the phones and texting, so many folks have told us, ‘I voted, I voted, I voted,’” said Shanise Hamilton, an organizer with Durham For All, a grassroots political organization, in an interview with The N&O.

“We’ve assured our people that their voice matters and their vote matters,” Hamilton said. “They did their part. And now, we’re here to do our part and make sure that the process is protected.”

Bradley said she was inspired by the unprecedented voter turnout. She voted with dozens of other essential workers during a march to the polls on the first day of early voting in October.

“It’s not only about the election,” Bradley said. “It’s about the people that came out to vote. So many young people came out to vote. And that was just so amazing, because it’s been a long time since an election has been this important.”

Another demonstration organized by many of the same groups is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday in Raleigh at Halifax Mall.

This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 8:15 PM.